Letting Go Of The Old

         Do you get tired of the repetitiveness of everyday life? I know I do. I think that’s why we enjoy a vacation or a special holiday so much. It gets us out of our familiar routines and allows us to experience new things.
        
        The idea of new things made me think about people in the Bible God called out of their comfort zone and what the consequences would have been if they hadn’t accepted that call.
        
        Abraham is a perfect example. God called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans - to leave his family, friends and everything he had ever known and go to a new place, somewhere he had never been before. “One day, the Eternal One called out to Abram...Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you. Don’t worry-I will guide you there” (Genesis 12:1 VOICE).

      Although Abram got waylaid in Haran, he did eventually make it to Canaan, the land of promise. He decided to trust God and the result was the nation of Israel and the lineage of Jesus.

      What would have happened if Abram (Abraham) didn’t go? God’s purposes will prevail and He would have chosen someone else. But Abraham would have missed out on all the blessings. “’I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you’” (Genesis 12:2-3 NLT). “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6 NLT).

       The disciples Peter, his brother Andrew, and brothers James and John are another illustration. They left everything familiar and their source of livelihood to follow Jesus. At the time they answered His call, they only knew they’d become fishers of men, as Jesus told them. They didn’t know that in the power of the Holy Spirit, they would turn the world upside down.

     The Apostle Paul is another case in point. Circumcised when eight days old, a citizen of Israel, member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, one who obeyed the law without fault. He left everything he knew about how to be righteous in his own strength and accepted the call to be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). What a paradigm shift he underwent. But he had to be willing to let go of the old.

       If he had clung to his old ways, he would have missed seeing the salvation of Jews and Gentiles alike, as well as being used by God to pen at least thirteen letters in the New Testament.

       I would like to conclude with a prayer.

      “Father God, we ask you for strength and boldness when you call us to step out of the comfort of our everyday world. In our own strength, we are weak, so we ask for Your divine power to obey.
     
​      "Fill us to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. Replace our fear with unwavering confidence in You and in Your promises. Give us the courage to follow You, our Shepherd, no matter the cost, trusting Your plans are for our good. In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen.”